Why the Embryo is a Human being?

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Why the embryo is a human being

Introduction

The embryo is the beginning of the life of a human being . It results from the fusion of a male and a female gamete known as sperm and ova respectively at the time of fertilization until about 8 weeks after fertilization where it becomes a foetus . At this point , the embryo has undergone various stages of development . The issues of abortion and embryo research which result in the death of embryos have created much

debate regarding whether the embryo is a human being or not . Arguments concerning biological development and the time when ensoulment occurs have been put forward to explain the status of the human being . This explanation is dependent on the time at which life begins which varies for most pro-choice groups and medical practitioners and pro-lifers This is due to various definitions of the beginning of human life such as at the time when the fetus is viable or at birth . For pro-life groups life begins at conception and this too is the start of pregnancy . Due to their different definitions the morality and ethics surrounding abortion and embryo research have found different explanations

Arguing that the embryo is not a person , indicates that there is specific time when the embryo becomes a human being . The embryo does not have the ability to act neither does it look like a full grown person This however cannot be used to defend the argument that it is not a human being . This would mean then , that a grain of corn by looking different from the full grown corn stalk ceases to be corn . The grain of corn therefore has the potency to mature into a stalk of corn . This is the concept of potency which enables the explanation of developmental changes in the embryo . These changes result in different appearances but the subject (the embryo ) remains the same individual (0 'Rourke , 2005

Boethius defines a person as having characteristics of individuality and rationality . St . Thomas Aquinas went further to elaborate this definition by commenting that individuality stems from the fact that a person has some degree of separateness from another . Rationality according to Thomas Aquinas indicates control over one 's actions and the ability to have initiative and act rather than being acted upon (0 'Rourke , 2005 . The term person here is used to refer to human beings creatures who are made up of matter and form (body and soul . John Locke on the other hand defines a person slightly differently . His definition forms the basis of most present day philosophers . This definition has elements of Aquinas 's definition . Locke did not deny the presence of substance rather he put emphasis on the activities of a person . In Locke 's definition , a person thinks , can identify pleasure , pain happiness , misery and is capable of feeling them . A person also has concern for himself to the degree permitted by consciousness (0 'Rourke 2005 . According to Locke 's...